The Golliwogg's Bicycle Club

London, New York and Bombay: Longmans, Green & Co, 1896. Hardcover. Good Plus/No Jacket. Oblong 11 By 9 Inches. 63 pp. Full color plate illustrations not quite every other page, with text illustrations interspersed in margins of comic verse. One of the best of the politically dubious relics of late nineteenth century children's literature. It is hard to say whether the infectious humor of the illustrations or of the fluent inspired doggerel, almost certainly emulated by the likes of Roald Dahl, is the bigger draw. Probably the rarest of the highly desirable Golliwogg series, this one taking our characters to Paris, Japan and Africa. This copy has considerable soilage on the boards, which are illustrated paper pasted onto the boards. Shelfwear along edges and corners. Original spine band survives, with some wear by tips and rubbing along gutters. Interior tight. Some scattered soilage to pages, but text and especially the illustrations remain attractive.